


This, the Next, and Everything in Between

by rscrapave



Series: Wonder [2]
Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fix-It, Mention of other members of the Cullen, Mention of past trauma, Post-Breaking Dawn, Post-Canon, RC Cullen, Renesmee Cullen Deserves Better, Rosalie Hale Deserves Better, bella swan deserves better
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-18 09:01:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29241009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rscrapave/pseuds/rscrapave
Summary: What is the purpose of immortality? What should someone do when they have that? A little story about how one Cullen hybrid try to navigate through immortal life.
Relationships: Edward Cullen/Bella Swan, Emmett Cullen/Rosalie Hale, Renesmee Cullen & Bella Swan, Renesmee Cullen & Rosalie Hale, Renesmee Cullen/Original Female Character
Series: Wonder [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2142036
Comments: 4
Kudos: 17





	This, the Next, and Everything in Between

**Author's Note:**

> Hola!  
> This is another, errrr, something about RC Cullen. At this point she's just a kid with a million questions. When I said kid, I meant college age kid who have no clue whatsoever. I speak from experience.  
> Anyway, I do not own Twilight. Only the original character(s) I created.

**This, the Next, and Everything In Between**

  
  


RC hadn’t made up her mind about being immortal. 

Her parents said it was a good thing, because they could be together forever. It was what they told her—more like, what her mom told her—as one of the bedtime stories when she was a kid. A six years old in a sixteen years old body. RC had no problem digesting the thought, because she did love her family and every moment spent with them was invaluable. 

But like every other kid, she grew up and started to question everything. Why did they have to stay together after they moved somewhere? Why did they have to repeat high school over and over again? Why did they never try to interact with the other kids, the other people in whatever town they lived in, to lessen their suspicions about her family? Wouldn’t it be better if they actually _hide_ in plain sight? A family of _nine_ , immortals no less, living right under humans’ noses. 

Some members of her family were a little skeptical when she said that she wanted to go to college on her own. That way, the others could go somewhere and she could say that her siblings went off for college abroad or volunteering around the country. The compromise they agreed on was to go to Dartmouth with her mom, who was supposed to be her sister. 

The whole arrangement wasn’t exactly like how she imagined, but it was better than her worst case scenario. At least Bella was spot on with the whole late-teenager in college stereotype, with a freshman little sister that she had to look after. Which was why RC had to learn to sneak away after each class so she wouldn’t have to be interrogated by her mom—wait no, _sister_. Key word on the ‘had to learn’, because apparently, she wasn’t that good at it. 

“Why are you in such a hurry?”

RC stopped in her tracks and turned around slowly. Her mom was sitting on the bench outside her classroom. She exhaled a breath before approaching her. “I’m meeting up with a friend.”

“You spend a lot of time with her.”

“We have a project due, so of course.” She shrugged. “What? You have a problem with that, _Bella_?”

Bella’s leg was bouncing. The metals in her boots clashed together in her ears. “No. I’m just checking in, you know. Gotta make sure—”

“Yo, RC!” 

The voice cut Bella’s words out of her mouth as their gazes turned down the hall. She saw Rory come towards the two, a sheepish smile was on her face. The strap of her messenger bag threatened to fall off her shoulder as she jogged. Her jacket was crumpled in one hand, just like the way she used to. RC still couldn’t understand why the girl chose to carry around a jacket but never wear it. 

“Rory,” Bella greeted, giving the girl an awkward wave.

“Hey, Bella. Do you have plans with RC?” Rory asked before looking up to meet RC’s eyes. “Should we cancel?”

“No, definitely not. Bella’s just leaving.”

“See you at home, RC,” Bella said as she got up, slinging her bad over her shoulder. “Rory.”

RC didn’t waste a minute to drag her friend to the opposite direction. Her hand was wrapped around Rory’s left wrist as she took them across the building. Rory didn’t say anything, but RC could hear her combat boots against the floor. It wasn’t until the two of them got outside when Rory spoke.

“Not that I mind being turned into your personal ragdoll, but are you really that excited for some decent cup of coffee? I know I am, because who are you kidding, but I didn’t realize that you’re as much as a caffeine addict like me.”

RC stopped abruptly and Rory crashed into her, making her drop Rory’s hand. She turned around to face her friend, who was breathing harder than usual. Rory’s heartbeat could be heard a lot louder in her ears. 

_Slow down_.

“I just want to get away from Bella. You heard what she said.”

One of Rory’s brows was raised. “Uh, something about seeing you later? At home?”

“Exactly. She’s making me go back to the house. Like, what is even the point of living in the dorms when your family wants you to be home half the week. That doesn’t make any sense.”

“I think that’s sweet, actually, they missed you. From what you’ve told me, you guys seemed really close and you moved away for college...” Rory said. The jacket in her hand was hung around her forearm and she slowly rubbed the wrist that RC grabbed a minute before. 

“Crap,” she muttered under her breath. “I grabbed you too hard, didn’t I?”

“No, it’s fine. I’m fine.” Rory held her hand in front of RC’s face. “See? They’re still attached to the joint, no harm done. Now stop deflecting. What’s up?”

Her forehead creased at the question. “Why would you think there’s something up with me?”

“Dude, we may haven’t known each other for a long time, but I know you. There’s something in your mind, I can tell.”

“How?”

“It’s written all over your face.”

RC took a deep breath before looping her arm around Rory’s. They walked across the courtyard as RC confided about her current situation sans the supernatural part. It was proven to be harder than she thought, getting close to someone that didn’t know anything about the world she lived in. 

It made her reevaluate everything she thought about her family. Their choices to keep to themselves, to keep moving every three to five years. How they had to lose contact to coworkers and people from their previous town when they moved. That couldn’t have been easy and she owed her family that much credit.

She struggled to filter her words, to not lie to Rory but not necessarily tell the truth either. The cover story that her family mandated to her didn’t really include an elaborate lie about everything. Thankfully, Rory accepted whatever answer that RC offered her. The girl didn’t ask too much, and didn’t mind that RC was basically keeping everything vague. She wasn’t sure if the other people would be willing to do that, but the last four months living among regular college kids taught her a lot.

One, most of them were clueless, if not about one thing, it would be the other. They were in the age of having no clue about what they wanted to do after. Most of the time, they just wanted to live in the moment.

Two, they valued privacy, some valued it more than the other. Her family thought it was ironic. People in the 21th century valued their privacy so much, but they posted about it around the internet for the whole world to see.

It didn’t make a lot of sense to her either. RC was still trying to figure that one out. 

She had been talking to Rosalie about it. Texting, of course, because RC didn’t need her whole family hearing her every call. Rosalie was also the best at hiding her thoughts from Edward, so RC didn’t have to worry about giving debate ammunition to her father. Having a telepath in the family had its perks, but lately her father just pissed her off even more. 

_Downright intrusive._

Those were her Aunt Rosalie’s words, in much, much more PG rated terms. She knew that Rosalie loved her brother, in some way or another, but even she couldn’t tolerate Edward when he was being… well, a possessive, self-righteous, controlling man. 

“He thinks that his way is the way to go,” Rosalie said from under the car she was working on. “I loved you father, to a certain degree and he can be very infuriating. Especially when he just reads the thoughts out of your mind and _judges_ you for it. Or when he insisted on doing things the way he wanted to because he _knows_ best.”

“Like the whole ‘I want to go to college’ debacle.”

“It’s not a debacle. You have a say in every decision regarding your life, don’t forget that. Edward needs to be more respectful to people’s choices.”

“And mom too,” RC said. “She keeps popping up when I’m about to meet Rory. It’s like she’s conspiring with that, like both of them don’t want me to have a life outside this family.”

“Your friend, Veronica, isn't it?” Rosalie rolled out from under the car, wiping her hands in a towel before sitting against Carlisle’s Benz on the ground beside RC. “You said you talked to her a lot. What did you tell her, Little Lily?”

“I filtered out vampires and hybrids out of our conversations, don’t worry. But that’s so much harder than I thought. I keep worrying that I’ll slip up and we’ll have to move.”

“Do you think she’s suspicious?”

RC shrugged. “I don’t think she is, but then again, Rory’s not nosy to begin with. But I think family is a sensitive subject with her. Maybe that’s why she doesn’t ask questions about mine, because she doesn’t want me to ask the same thing.”

“Yeah? How do you know?”

“She always tensed up everytime the subject came around. Sometimes her heart beats faster and she gets antsy,” RC answered. “The first time we met, I told her I was adopted too, then her demeanor changed and she asked if my family was good to me. You know, as if hers...”

RC felt Rosalie tensed up beside her, her body went as taut as a bow string. The atmosphere in the garage changed, it got heavy and uncomfortable and RC was wondering if she was supposed to rephrase that differently. 

While her family often told her stories about how it was back in the day, they never really told her about how they were changed or anything that led to their changes. It wasn’t long until RC figured out each of them had some kind of trauma from it. So, she never asked and waited for them to tell her themselves. That time never occurred as RC always figured the big picture on her own. 

Everyone of the Cullen family was changed when they were all dying, except Jasper and Alice. What happened to each one of them before the changes remained mysteries, but RC noticed the little things. 

How nobody except her and Emmett could touch her Aunt Rosalie without her lashing and threatening to break their hand. The women in the family only could do a little more than her and Emmett. Sometimes, only sometimes, Rosalie didn’t tense up more if that was even possible. Most of the time it was just her and Emmett. It was different though, when Rosalie initiated the contact, but RC still noticed the hesitation in her aunt’s movement. 

RC would also pick up the slight change in Esme’s voice. How she let out a barely audible pained hiss when someone was arguing too loud in the house, or simply just yelling over the TV. Or how Aunt Alice always had this longing look in her eyes, a tight smile on her face, when they were telling RC about their human lives. Something her aunt knew happened to her, but have no recollection of it ever happening. 

Their conversation about Rory in the garage ended like that—onerous, lingered at the back of her head. She didn’t get a chance to tell Rosalie that Rory was fine, as far as she knew. Rosalie went back under the car and RC left, knowing that it’d be best.

* * *

RC Cullen learned the hard thing about being immortal when she couldn’t tell her best friend about the crazy things that went on in her life. She had to watch every word that came out of her mouth, and it hadn’t got any easier. By the looks of things, it wouldn’t ever get any easier.

Maybe she should have listened to her family. Not that RC ever wanted to admit that out loud. 

_Is immortality that much better when we don’t have to interact with the people around us?_

That would be a lonely way to live for sure, but she had her family. There are also their extended relatives in Alaska. How they became ‘related’ to a group of people who shared no similarities but their choice of diet, RC had no idea. But, it would be okay, wouldn’t it?

“How do you know what to do with your immortality?” RC asked her mom as they drove down, back to Dartmouth.

Bella was quiet for a second, eyes focused on the road. RC didn’t need Edward’s ability to know that Bella wasn’t expecting her question. She noticed the slight frown on her mom’s face as she bit her lower lip—a habit from her human life. It was a good thing that it wouldn’t bleed if Bella bit too hard. 

“At first, I wanted to be a vampire so I could be with your father forever, with the rest of the Cullens,” Bella started as she kept adjusting her hold on the steering wheel. “I would have more time, more comfort in my own body. I wouldn’t have to worry about slipping on ice, or my own feet. I would be like every one of them. Graceful, ethereal.”

RC couldn’t help but grunted. “That’s not a little superficial at all.”

“I guess it is, isn’t it?” 

The thought of her mother wanting immortality for no other reason than to be with her then boyfriend was like a classic teenage dream. It made sense, in a way. Bella was seventeen when she met Edward and his family, who turned into hers not even two years after. 

“To be honest, Ren—” Bella cleared her throat. “RC. After all of that, what I want, they’re not so clear anymore. But we have time, so we can figure it out together.” She took a breath she didn’t need before quickly adding, “If you want to, of course. I won’t force you.”

RC didn’t know what to expect when she asked that question to her mom. To know that Bella was almost as clueless as she was, about the whole immortal life they landed in, it somewhat gave her a sense of ease. 

Of course, there was always a price for everything. RC could live forever, with her whole family, only to watch her friends grow old while she stayed the same. She could try every major available, only to have her degree and start over somewhere new before people started to notice the lack of change. Eventually they’d run out of place to move. What then?

Or, maybe, she could help humanity. Her Aunt Alice always said, to be a vampire was to live with everything or nothing at all. Her family chose everything, hence the amount of money they had in their accounts. Maybe she was oversimplifying everything, but it was the quickest way to understand the circumstances.

The point being, RC had all the time and resources in the world, quite literally, to do _something_. Maybe she could fund the restoration of the ice in the Antarctic, or help non-government organizations with their projects.

She could start small. Volunteering in homeless shelters and/or women’s centers. Making anonymous donations. The possibility was endless, and Bella was right. She had time.

Maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing, immortality. []

**Author's Note:**

> II.
> 
> Let me know what you think, kay??


End file.
